Zambia – A Lifetime at the Service of the Missions

02 March 2017

(ANS - Kabwe) - The Salesians arrived in Zambia in 1982. The first missionaries came from Poland. From the beginning, they began to work in parishes, serving mainly the young. In 1995 they started a new work in Malawi, one in Zimbabwe in 1997 and in 2001 they arrived in Namibia. As a result of this work, 11 oratories, 9 parishes and 9 schools have been started.

In Zambia, the Salesians have a vocational school in Chingola, a carpentry school in Kazembe and an agricultural school in Lufubu.

As the Salesian mission in Zambia was entrusted to the Provinces of Poland, there are still many Polish Salesians working in the area. Currently, however, of the 88 Salesians, half are of local origin. Local vocations have grown and the Vice-Province has been able to grow.

The Salesians arrived in Kabwe in 1987 and took over the leadership of the parish dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary. The missionaries did great work and in 2015 a new parish was started dedicated to Don Bosco, in the Makululu district. It has a population of about 80,000. 24% of adults are HIV-positive. As a result, there are about 5,000 orphans, 1 in every 4 children.

Another missionary area is Makululu, where there are no schools. The halls at the Salesian centre accommodate 60 students in an area where 40% of children between 7 and 14 years are not in school. There are no medical centres. Basic medicines are lacking. This is a serious problem, since many children are sick due to lead contamination because the local waters are polluted. The municipal wells where the people can get water are few and open for a limited time. People have to wait several hours to get water.

Fr Andrzej Zdzieborski is parish priest in Kabwe, where a Youth Centre was opened in 2000. It offers spiritual training and recreational activities. Each day Fr Andrzej celebrates the Eucharist in the parish. On Sundays, he celebrates Mass in English and in the local language, Bemba.

Fr Zdzieborski was sent as a missionary in 1984. Now he is forced to return for health reasons.

The Salesian Missions Office in Warsaw has conducted many projects that have benefited hundreds of people in Zambia. Now it wants to help Fr Zdzieborski to return to health so that he can go back to work in the midst of so many people in need.

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